LOS ANGELES – At a time when furniture is down in most circles, a June 14, 2011 auction in Los Angeles delivered what bidders wanted in their antique furniture: quality, variety and provenance.

Bonhams & Butterfields offered a 550-lot selection of fine European antique furniture and decorative arts featuring an array of works for varied tastes and collecting levels from the 16th through the 20th centuries. The sale focused on English and French properties as well as property from the Estate of director, writer, producer and ctor, Tim Whelan and his wife, actress and Los Angeles interior decorator, Miriam Seegar.

French pieces of note from the June sale included a Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted mahogany suite of bedroom furniture, late 19th century, sold for $73,200; a Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted marquetry bois satine and mahogany commode by François Linke, late 19th century, sold for $54,900; an impressive Napoleon III gilt bronze, champlevé and onyx jardinière, third quarter 19th century, sold for $28,060; a Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted kingwood vitrine, late 19th century, sold for $26,840; an impressive Régence style gilt bronze pedestal fourth quarter, 19th century, sold for $24,400 and a Louis XV style carved giltwood and parcel ebonized mirror, second half 19th century, sold for $24,400).

Highlighting the English section of the sale was a stunning George III mahogany secretary bookcase, sold for $30,500 from Estate of director, writer, producer and actor, Tim Whelan and his wife, actress and Los Angeles interior decorator, Miriam Seegar. The highly sought after work was purchased from the highly regarded Norfolk House auction held onsite at St. James Square in 1938, which featured property from His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, K.G. Later that same year, the Whelan/Seegar home and furnishings were featured in Ideal Home magazine in an article titled Hospitality in the Country. A selection of images featured in Ideal Home magazine is available to media covering the story. Please contact the Public Relations Department for further details.

Additional works of note from the Estate of Tim Whelan and Miriam Seegar, featured in the June auction, included several of the items depicted within the nine page Ideal Home article, such as the stunning bookcase, described above, and a George III mahogany silver table, sold for $6,710, among others.

October sale features life-size statues

Sales of Fine European and American Furniture and Decorative Arts at Bonhams & Butterfields will continue on Oct. 31, 2011 in San Francisco. The sale, timed to coincide with the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, will include pieces prominent to the city where they will be offered.

Highlights from the October sale will include life-size, late 19th century statues of the Discus Thrower, the Belvedere Apollo and Diana the Huntress (est. $8,000-12,000 each), once displayed and owned by Adolph Sutro at his famous San Francisco-based Cliff House and Sutro Baths.

There also will be a very important monumental pair of Louis XVI style gilt and patinated bronze figural nineteen light candelabra by Louis-Auguste-Alfred Beurdeley, fourth quarter 19th century (est. $30,000-50,000), once displayed at the famous Fox Theatre in San Francisco. They will be offered in the sale to benefit the California Historical Society. Additional highlights for the fall sale will be announced in early September and include furniture and decorative objects by Frances Elkins from the Estate of Katherine Boyd. Boyd, daughter of Ms. Elkins, was a noted Bay Area philanthropist and designer.

The illustrated auction catalog will be posted online for review in the weeks preceding the auction at Bonhams.com/usfurniture.

Previews: October 28-31, 2011, San FranciscoAuction: October 31, 2011, San Francisco